Newgrange is a prehistoric burial temple located in the east of Ireland. It was built 5,200 thousand years ago (3200 BC) during the Neolithic period. Newgrange is older than Stonehenge and the great pyramids of Giza, and was built by a civilisation who had advanced knowledge of astronomy and mathematics.
The temple is just one monument within a large Neolithic complex called Brú na Bóinne, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
These rocks at the entrance of the tomb were carved 5,200 years ago and are some of the finest examples of ancient art in the world.
Once a year, at the winter solstice, the rising sun shines directly along the long passage into the chamber for about 17 minutes and illuminates the chamber floor.
The sun enters the passage through a specially contrived opening directly above the main entrance to the temple.
Today the first light enters about four minutes after sunrise, but calculations based on the precession of the Earth show that 5,000 years ago first light would have entered exactly at sunrise.
Excavations have revealed deposits of both burnt and unburnt human bone in the passage, indicating human corpses were indeed placed within it, some of which had been cremated. From examining the unburnt bone, it was shown to come from at least two separate individuals, but much of their skeletons were missing, and what was left had been scattered about the passage.
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ReplyDelete1. The Headline, "Ancient Temple of Newgrange" is almost certainly correct.
ReplyDelete2. While there is no evidence that Newgrange was a burial temple, see below, the builders had developed advanced astral knowledge, without the benefit of telescopes or computers, that was later lost. Only to be re-discovered relatively recently.
3.The Sun Window through which the solstice sun shines was not contrived. It was carefully constructed using years of pre-planning. The actual working of the Sun Window was only re-discovered in 1969; at which time the description should have been altered from burial tomb/passage grave to Sun Temple with a Fertility App.
4. The so-called deposits of burnt and unburnt human bones were more likely to have been the remains of animal and human remains dragged into the temple after she was abandoned by the Neolithic worshippers and/or deposited by animals/humans, after 1699 when the entrance was de-discovered but before the OPW installed an animal proof gate and before there was strict supervision. When Edward Llwyd examined the basins in 1699, he did not note signs of burial goods or matter. The Battle of the Boyne took place in 1690, only a few miles from Newgrange, offering wild dogs and wolves still chewy bones to drag into the now open monument.
5. It would be impossible for the original builders to burn human bone and flesh within the chamber as the lack of air would choke both the fire and those gathered inside. There were no signs smoke on the interior walls or ceiling of the monument.
6. When Michael O'Kelly excavated the site, there were no signs of bones or burial material behind the orthostats.